Intro to Emotions Activities
Short statements like: "All students should have to wear uniforms" or "We will no longer have sports offered here" etc. might get some emotions stirred. :)
I do an activity with the "Emotions Wheel". I give the students each a pkt. of Smarties and a copy of the "Emotions Wheel" (which you can probably find by googling it), then I read varios scenerios and the students place a Smartie by the emotion they think they would be feeling. We compare and contrast the various responses, elaborating on why some of us might feel one emotion more than another or not at all. It can be a great quick hands-on activity you could use as a bell ringer or a filler.
I took pictures of different things, one for each student, then I asked them to write down what emotion they felt after looking at the picture, then they passed it along until all got a chance to see, then we discussed commonalities and differences. You can do this on a big screen too.
How about something with "emojies", the kids are in to texting. Have them in groups, for those who don't have iphones or aren't familiar, draw and describe the emojie. Brain storm. Have them brainstorm different emotions, list and then assign to groups to design an emojie that conveys that emotion. Have them write a sentence or a paragraph that has to have a specific number of emoticons in them. I've never done this. Just popped into my head when I read your email. Disregard if it sounds lame.
I usually have my high school students play a charades game with emotions in small groups. Each group gets a different envelope with emotions inside, students draw one and then act out silently while others guess. I usually do this as an end activity, but it could be an easy starter and could definitely start some great discussion!
I have some students draw different emotions out of a bowl and they act them out while the rest of the class guesses what emotion it is. Then we have a discussion. It works really well for my 6th grade students. :)
I use to play a game " I'm thinking of .." and give them b, like fruit, then they would guess a fruit, it is red, guess again, another clue. I'm sure you get it now!
I hide candy around the room (less than the # in the class), and tell the kids to find it. Afterwards, we discuss what emotions they felt, the triggering event, and the thought that created the emotion. The students love it. I can send you a more detailed paper if you want. Just send me your address and I’ll mail it to you.
Valerie Shaw Kennedy Jr.
I do several things with emotions but one my middle school kids love is that I play different pieces of different music and have them identify the first emotion that song makes them feel. I talk with them about how music affects our emotions which is why movies would be boring without the soundtrack and how music can totally change how we are feeling, etc. They really like it.
I have never done this in class, but I read about a teacher who had all of the students get out a piece of paper and write their name on it. Then, they were told to crunch up their paper, stomp on it, throw it around the room, and then go find theirs. They then had to try to flatten it out and get it back to its original state. The message was that some damage is unrepairable. You can try to fix things in a person, but they will never totally recover from mean things people say, bullying, etc. You could tie it into emotions of hurt or sadness.
Also, you may check out the Tom Jackson books... they have great activities in them!
Linda, I do a simple activity where I post difference emotion signs around the room ( happy, sad , angry) then read a scenario and have the kids move to the area of the room that matches what emotion they would have with this scenario. We then discuss why each person chose their location or feeling. Simple but fun and they get to move around.
An idea that I have used is to have emotions words and water colors. Let them use just color to express the emotion on a white paper. That means no words, no symbols, just color. I use these 4 emotions, joy, anger, sad, peace. The students draw a slip with one of these on - without telling what emotion they have been assigned they use colors to express. When they are done painting, you can let the students group the papers by emotions to see the similarities. (or you could just let them enjoy a short art activity with coloring emotions.)
I do an activity in non-verbal communication in Adult Roles where the students have to go around and have others act out the emotion that I have taped to their back. They have to get 5 signatures of those who act out the emotion and then they guess what the emotion is. I have attached the emotions I use. You could use a half sheet like the one below for them to complete as they do the activity:
Go around the room to 5 people (do not vocalize in any way.) Get each of the 5 people to look at the card that is on your back, sign your sheet, and act out the emotion that is written on your card. DO NOT TELL EACH OTHER WHAT THE CARD SAYS. IT IS OKAY IF YOU GUESS WRONG WHEN TRYING TO DECIDE WHAT YOU CARD SAYS.
1. I think the emotion I have written on my back is:_______________
2. Five signatures
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
To introduce emotions and handling stress, I used to tell my students they had to do a great big research paper. I would have them take notes on a sheet of paper as I explained it.I told them all the requirements and made it sound really hard and worth a lot of points. When I finished I showed them a picture with all the faces showing different emotions on it (i am not sure I have an electronic copy) and asked them to identify how they were feeling. Then I told them the the assignment was not really true, let them wad up their note paper and throw it at me, and identify their new feelings. Most of course were relieved, some were annoyed, and some even would say they were disappointed because the assignment seemed interesting and a challenge to them. Bottom line: they had experienced several emotions in a short period of time and we could talk about it in our discussion.
I have students list as many different emotions as they can come up with. Then I have them draw a face to go along with each emotion. It takes up some time, and you can set a limit to make it as long or short as you need. The students all seem to enjoy it.